'Rihanna played us': Real life vs Instagram carnival photos incite vicious male fat shamers

Rihanna broke the internet earlier this week by sharing a gorgeous snap of her Barbados carnival outfit which has amassed over 4.3m likes in two days, even prompting her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown to post the suggestive eyes emoji in the comments section. Breezy can't be blamed.

After male sports reporter Chris Spags dared to call RiRi "fat" and said her size was "tough to stomach" in May earlier this year – comments that lead to his suspension at Barstool Sports – we thought the body-shaming was over in regards to our Bajan beauty.

Like many women, Rihanna fluctuates in weight and right now she looks healthy and glowing, and most definitely not "fat". Putting the criticism behind her and showcasing a positive body image to her 55.7m Instagram followers – a lot of which are young, impressionable girls – Rihanna showed off her sensational curves in this year's jaw-dropping carnival outfit.

Sure, she's standing in a flattering pose, but she's proud of her figure – an amazing flat stomach, boobs, toned legs and an incredible hair and make-up look of fluttering lashes and blue hair. More interesting than your average Kylie Jenner clone trying to sell you a 30% off watch with their promotional code.

But of course, the male body shamers had to speak out... presumably typing their nefarious comments while carving out six-packs in the gym.

A real-life image of Rihanna was captured from the carnival, catching her off-guard in a strange stance, and it's been making the rounds online for the past 24 hours. One chap shared it with the caption: "Rihanna played us".

'The walk of shame' Facebook page shared the same picture with the words: "Real life vs Instagram

Rihanna is a joke these days what the f**k has she been eating ?

We had faith in you Ri Ri and you've just let us all down. If we wanted a fat chick we would listen to Adele "

Just wow. Along with Instagram culture warping people's idea of a healthy body image with Photoshopped waists, elongated legs and unrealistic physiques, it's comments like this that put extra pressure on women to look a certain way.

And trust us, women feel bad enough already scouring through heavily edited snaps of models that look like they've been drawn by a 12-year-old boy.

So if Rihanna doesn't conform to the now-norm and look like a stick figure with double F breasts and a 23 inch waist, then she must be body-shamed, naturally.

One man wrote: "all the fatties getting defensive ffs surely a famous and well loved celeb editing her pics to make herself look skinnier does far more damage than a walk of shame fb calling her fat ass out on it."

Another said: "Aw the fat burds defending her as if she one of their mates. Now that's just embarrassing!!!!!"

Recognising that the offensive post is a sad reflection on today's narcissistic society, women retaliated: "Think you massively underestimate people's intelligence here. Most of us are aware that images of celebrities are re-touched to make it more "aesthetically pleasing". Don't try and pass off your huge disrespect for women you don't personally find "beautiful" as sticking up for a cause you clearly don't give a shit about."

Another said: "So is this just what's happening with the world right now.... a girl has curves and she's fat and publicly slated??? Think maybe yous need a bit more self-confidence so yous can stop trying to feel better by belittling and insulting women. Absolutely pathetic."

Whether the rise of social media and Photoshop has perverted some men's (and women's) perception of what a healthy body looks like, or if men are just happier with women resembling life-sized Barbie dolls, one thing is clear and that's Rihanna is – and always has been – one of the greats, two stone up or down.